Reynolds: DaMonte Williams following in some big footprints

Saturday

Jun 28, 2014 at 8:23 PM

BY Dave ReynoldsOF THE JOURNAL STAR

PEORIA — Sons of famous fathers always have much to live up to, a concept with which DaMonte Williams is quite familiar. The 15-year-old Williams, who will be a sophomore point guard at Manual High School this fall, has been touted as the next big thing in local basketball circles. It was a title hung on his dad, Frank, in the mid-1990s as he was emerging as the point guard on three of the Rams’ four straight state championship teams. Frank Williams went on to become Illinois Mr. Basketball, the Big Ten Player of the Year at Illinois and a first-round NBA draft choice of the New York Knicks. While Williams’ NBA career fizzled out after three seasons, he’s still regarded as one of the greatest players Peoria has produced. “It’s pretty hard (being the son of Frank Williams),” DaMonte said Saturday following the Rams’ three games in the River City Hoops Festival at Peoria High School. “A lot of stuff he did, I need to do the same thing or even better.”He’s off to a good start. The younger Williams is more physically advanced at his age than his celebrated dad. At 6-foot-2, the son is just an inch or so shy of his father’s current height. But as DaMonte’s size 14 shoe indicates, he’s likely not done growing. “DaMonte’s more athletic at this stage than Frank was,” said longtime Manual assistant coach Dave Williams. “DaMonte can dunk off a vertical with two hands. Frank didn’t dunk until the end of his sophomore year.”Watching Saturday’s games from the balcony railing, Frank also called his progeny “a lot wiser than I was at his age.”When asked if DaMonte could achieve what his father did, Frank nodded.“I hope he reaches that level,” he said. “He has the opportunity. He has a great support staff.”Frank, 34, has become a bigger part of that group in recent years.“I let him do it on his own for 13 years or so, have fun and fall in love with the game on his own,” he said. “He’s at a point now where he really wants it and I can work with him. I’m trying to watch over him and keep him out of harm’s way.”DaMonte, who played sparingly in the Rams’ first two games because of disciplinary reasons, said the biggest thing he’s learned from his dad is the mental game.“He’s worked with me on thinking what to do ahead of time and making better decisions,” DaMonte said. “I’ve seen some video of him when he was at Illinois. He had that dogged mentality to score and get his (teammates) into it.”At this point, DaMonte hasn’t quite developed that scorer’s mindset.“I was a scorer first,” Frank said. “He’s more of a team player. He gets everyone involved.”There hasn’t been much attention yet from college coaches, but it’s undoubtedly just around the corner.“If DaMonte stays at Manual for four years and works hard, he’ll go mid-to-high major,” said Dave Williams. “When he’s locked in and focused, he’s pretty darn good.”Said Frank Williams: “It’s his decision. But I’d like to have a little say so.”Until then, it appears DaMonte Williams’ famous father will have a little say so about a lot of things regarding his son.SUMMER BREEZE: Six-foot-4 Manual sophomore forward Ramon Douglas played well Saturday and showed he’ll also be pushing for a starting spot in the Rams’ lineup next season. ... The host Lions went 3-1 in pool play Saturday. Springfield Lanphier was the only unbeaten team at 3-0. Metamora and Manual were both 2-1, while the Richwoods freshmen, subbing for the Knights’ varsity, were 0-3. ... East St. Louis was a no-show because of a “personal matter,” according to festival director Ron Ruffin. “We had to make some adjustments, but we were ready for it,” Ruffin said. ... Metamora leading scorer Nate Kennel suffered a wrist injury near the end of the Redbirds’ 20-point win over the Rams and sat out Metamora’s final game. His status is uncertain for today’s final day of the event, which begins at 9 a.m. ... Pool play wraps up in late morning Sunday with the seven-game tournament starting at noon. The championship is scheduled to begin around 3 p.m. ... In the concurrent four-team girls tournament Saturday, Peoria High went 2-0, Limestone and Peoria Christian 1-1 and Bloomington 0-2.Dave Reynolds can be reached at 686-3210 or at dreynolds@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @davereynolds2.